CFTC to Host Cryptocurrency CEO Forum to Discuss Digital Asset Market Pilot Program

Grayscale Research Head Zach Pandl wrote that the AI crypto sector rose 54% in September, significantly outperforming the overall crypto market’s 24% gain. Even after this rally, the sector’s market capitalization remains only around $15 billion, making it the smallest among the six crypto segments categorized by Grayscale. Among the sector’s representative tokens: NEAR surged 183% in September, Venice (VVV) rose 70%, World (WLD) gained 47%, and Bittensor (TAO) increased 37%. These projects respectively cover agent-based commerce, privacy AI applications, human identity verification, and an open AI network spanning inference, agents, data, and computing. Grayscale believes public blockchains can provide open infrastructure for agent payments, identity, privacy computing, and verifiable records, complementing the current AI development ecosystem concentrated in a handful of companies. The AI crypto sector may see one or more major winners emerge over the next five years, and recent performance indicates investors are starting to price in blockchain’s infrastructure role in the emerging agent economy.

Stablecoin payment infrastructure company OpenPayd CEO Iana Dimitrova said the firm expects to complete its merger with Titan Acquisition Corp. and list on the Nasdaq by the end of the year, with the stock ticker OP. The transaction is in the final stages of review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pending conditions including the effectiveness of the registration statement and approval from Titan’s shareholders. The listing will provide funding for the company’s U.S. business expansion, with OpenPayd targeting a launch of services for U.S. clients by April 2027. The firm previously incorporated MSB USA Inc. and its money transmission licenses across 43 U.S. states into its group. OpenPayd offers infrastructure for accounts, foreign exchange, domestic and cross-border payments, and fiat-to-stablecoin fund transfers, with clients including Kraken, B2C2, and OKX. Dimitrova noted the company is scouting for acquisition targets that can complement its licenses or technical capabilities and accelerate market entry. The listing will also grant the company access to capital markets, and enable it to use its public stock for transactions and partnerships. OpenPayd is also considering private financing ahead of the merger. Per the announced transaction terms, the implied pro forma equity valuation of the combined entity is up to $1.1 billion.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said the recent uptick in U.S. Treasury yields aligns with global trends, advising against overreacting to the move. During an interview with Axios on Saturday, he remarked: “I would be concerned if there was some kind of unusual, specific rise. We are not seeing people dumping U.S. Treasuries to buy German or Japanese bonds. I can’t control the bond market. What I can do is get people to slow down and think.” Separately, Bessent pushed back against fears of an AI bubble, arguing that major tech players including Microsoft, Google and Meta are pouring significant capital into the space and driving robust revenue growth for firms like Anthropic and OpenAI.

Weak U.S. non-farm payrolls data and sharp turmoil in French financial markets have reduced the urgency for Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers to follow through on additional rate hikes at their respective meetings this month. Both central banks will release minutes from their September meetings in the coming days; at those sessions, they raised interest rates over concerns about rising inflation pressures. The Fed’s September meeting minutes are likely to show many policymakers were deeply worried about underlying price trends at the time, and projected at least one more rate hike before the end of the year. However, Friday’s non-farm payrolls figures showed job additions came in below expectations and wage growth remained sluggish, further indicating the labor market is not fueling current inflationary pressures. Earlier this week, government revisions to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index revealed inflation has been running slightly lower than previously estimated this year. Economists say the bar for an October rate hike is now very high. Even if the minutes remind markets of the hawkish stances officials took in September, subsequent data has strengthened the case for patience. While services inflation may keep a December rate hike on the table, the Fed will likely need clearer evidence that price pressures are resurgent before raising rates again. (Jin10)

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said that as AI Agents evolve from answering questions to performing tasks and making actual purchases on behalf of users, investors may soon need to shift from "tracking developers" to "tracking AI Agents" to monitor which software, services, and financial networks they choose. Wood told the Robinhood Summit, "We may increasingly talk about 'tracking agents'." She believes that if millions of AI Agents can independently choose which tools and services to use in the future, their actual activities could become a new metric for tracking tech demand and capital flows. This trend is also driving the development of "Agentic Finance." SharpLink Co-CEO and former BlackRock Digital Assets head Joseph Chalom said AI Agents need payment permissions that are controllable, revocable, and traceable. For example, a user could authorize an agent to spend up to $500 on hotel bookings, while retaining the ability to revoke permissions and view transaction history at any time. Chalom noted that open blockchains like Ethereum could serve as shared financial networks for AI Agents, applications, and enterprises, enabling AI Agents to complete payments without a single bank or tech company acting as an intermediary. BlackRock has previously stated that AI Agents may use stablecoins to pay for API calls, data, and computing power in the future. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong previously said Grok is already one of the main clients for "agent traders" on Coinbase, though he did not disclose specific trading data. Meanwhile, companies including Stripe, Visa, Google, and OpenAI are developing AI Agent payment solutions, accelerating competition between traditional payment networks and blockchains.

According to Iranian media reports, Iran is reviewing a new U.S. proposal delivered via Qatar, which lays out a roadmap and timeline for final negotiations. The proposal is based on the Islamabad Framework but seeks to advance nuclear negotiations at an earlier stage. However, Iran continues to insist that the U.S. first fulfill its commitments, including sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds. Iran’s seven key conditions remain unchanged, and progress has been achieved in talks with Oman on a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.